June 4, 2013: Dark Matter

Science Pub RVA #11

Mining for Dark Matter

In an old iron mine a half-mile under the northern Minnesota woods, the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) found signals that could be three possible particles. What’s potentially exciting is the nature of these particles: if follow-up experiments confirm this discovery, they could be the first direct measurement of dark matter, the mysterious invisible substance comprising 80% of all the matter in the Universe. The hunt for dark matter particles is ultimately a quest to understand the structure of the cosmos, and ultimately how galaxies like ours exist.